Dix has few tricks up his sleeve for Bolt in Daegu

LONDON - Olympic and world champion Usain Bolt can “definitely be beaten” at the IAAF World Championships in Athletics in Daegu this month, American Walter Dix said after cruising to victory in the 200-meter sprint at the Diamond League meet in London on Saturday.

Dix was among a number of U.S. athletes to record impressive wins on the second day of action in the British capital, with fellow sprinter Carmelita Jeter and one-lap queen Sanya Richards-Ross also laying down the gauntlet to their rivals ahead of the Worlds in Daegu, which start on Aug. 27.

Olympic double bronze medalist Dix, the top American male hope for sprint medals in the absence of the injured Tyson Gay, clocked 20.16 seconds in a minus headwind to finish satisfied.

“All I do is win. That’s why you can never count me out,” said Dix, the U.S. champion at both the 100 meter and 200 meter.

Bolt may not have been at the meeting in England, which he also missed last year because of British tax rules on promotional earnings, but he will be the man to beat in Daegu, a task Dix thought was far from impossible when asked about it after his victory.

Another sprinter to watch for in Daegu will be Jeter. The 31-year-old has been in consistent form all season and will be a strong contender for her first global title after bronzes in 2007 and 2009.

The second-fastest woman of all-time in the 100-meter powered down the straight to win in 10.93 seconds, ahead of Trinidad and Tobago’s Kelly-Ann Baptiste and Olympic and world champion Shelley-Ann Fraser Pryce.

Richards-Ross appears to be hitting peak form at just the right time as she heads to Daegu to defend her world 400-meter crown. The 26-year-old, who missed most of last season through injury, lowered her season’s best by nearly a second in clocking 49.66 seconds.

“I’m so excited,” she said. “ I wanted to put on a show. It’s taken some time but I’m finally back to where I’ll be able to defend my title.”

The American’s best display of the season contrasted sharply with that of Britain’s Olympic and former world champion Christine Ohuruogu, who came in last.

Ohuruogu, like Richards-Ross, missed most of the 2010 season due to injury and has hardly competed this year. “I just haven’t got enough in my legs,” she said.

Home favorite and world and European triple jump champion Philips Idowu was upstaged by American Christian Taylor, who smashed his personal best with a third-round leap of 17.68 meters to take victory.

Idowu, his cropped hair dyed blonde with a blue stripe down the middle, was far from his best and had to settle for third with a jump of 17.07 meters.

The 32-year-old, who made a late withdrawal from the U.K. Trials last weekend, and who has been embroiled in a row with U.K. Athletics head coach Charles van Commenee over his withdrawal from the European Team Championships in June, admitted his performance was not what he was looking for in his last competition before the worlds.

“I’ve been working quite hard for the last few weeks, done a lot of competitions and I just wasn’t sharp today,” he said. “But no one is going to look back in a month’s time and say ‘I won Crystal Palace.’ I’m focused on Daegu.” Reuters

Walter Dix wins the 200-meter at the Crystal Palace Diamond League meet in London on Saturday. [AP/YONHAP]